Australian Immigration Daily News

Today is World Day against Trafficking in Persons. Australia has joined a global awareness-raising initiative to fight human trafficking and its devastating impact on society. 

Australia has passed a Modern Slavery Act requiring the Commonwealth Government and more than 3,000 large businesses to publish annual statements on their actions to address modern slavery in their supply chains and operations.

Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator Marise Payne has released a statement today about fighting human trafficking:

The purpose of the instrument is to update LIN 20/099 to specify an additional class of persons applying for a Subclass 500 visa to whom the nil VAC amount applies. As a result of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 and the consequential pandemic, some Subclass 500 visa holders will be unable to complete their studies within the validity period of their Subclass 500 visa. The instrument specifies that a nil VAC amount is applicable to a Subclass 500 visa holder who held the visa on or after 1 February 2020 and are seeking to reapply for further Subclass 500 visa to complete their study, if they were unable to complete their course within their original visa validity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: LIN20158.pdf and LIN20158-Explanatory-statement.pdf

DHA invitation rounds results for 11 June 2020 has been published. Details are as below: 

erms of Reference for the Inquiry:
To inquire into and report on:

The Joint Standing Committee on Migration shall inquire into and report on the Working Holiday Maker program, with reference to:
- The purpose of the program including history, size, composition, eligibility, and reciprocal access for Australians and recent changes;
- The value of the program to Australia's economy, including tourism, health care and agriculture sectors;
- The ongoing impact of COVID-19 nationally and internationally on the program;
- The potential economic impacts on regional economies due to the disruptions of access to Working Holiday Makers relied upon especially for the agricultural and tourism sectors; and the capacity, if any, for Australians made unemployed by COVID-19 to fill the labour shortage;
- The extent to which existing visa criteria and conditions related to Working Holiday Makers are still adequate and appropriate to address the purpose of this program, including cultural exchange and creating job opportunities for Australians;
- The extent to which the program can support economic recovery in regional Australia; and
- Any other related matters.

 Source: Working-Holiday-Maker-program.pdfWorking-Holiday-Maker-program.pdf

It has been widely reported by a number of media outlets that Australia is granting citizenships at record numbers which means the backlog of applications is hoping to be cleared by the end of 2020 (an ambitious but not an unrealistic goal).  The help of online ceremonies made the process more seamless and allowed more permanent residents to call Australia home during the pandemic.

Applicants beware!

To become an Australian Citizen, one must pass the character test.  In my previous post, I discuss the mechanics of character provisions under the Migration Act of 1958.  Here we are looking at completely different set of Rules and Regulations.  Starting with the Australian Citizenship Act 2007. The Act states that an applicant must demonstrate they are of good character, namely, that the applicant shows enduring moral qualities of a person at the time of a decision and an indication of whether the applicant is likely to uphold and obey laws of Australia, and the other commitments made through the Pledge, should they be approved for Citizenship.